Jade Chocolates: My New BFF

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 Tart dried green mangoes, spicy lime-chili rub, flecks of gray sea salt, all atop dark, bitter-sweet, perfectly bite-sized chocolate tiles. Oh, my.

One bite and I was smitten.

I bought a box, shared them with friends, then had to leave San Francisco the next morning to drive home.  No time to buy more.

A week went by. Cravings set in.  I prowled their web site to no avail. (Well, she had told me they wouldn't be posted for a few weeks yet, now hadn't she?)

 And then...  And then..., there they were. I couldn't submit the order quickly enough; my fingers tumbling all over the keyboard in my haste.

Within a few days they arrived on our doorstep and Mr CC brought them in; wrapped in a nondescript brown shipping box, he had no idea what he was holding (heh, heh).

Yes, I share them. But sparingly, people, sparingly.

Jade Chocolates is an award-winning, San Francisco based business run by Mindy Fong, owner and chocolatier, and one very nice person. Do read her bio and check out the rest of the chocolates she creates by blending superior chocolate with teas and spices from Asia and the Pacific Islands.


If you wanted to, and I whole-heartedly encourage you to do so, you can order these lovely mango delights at Jade Chocolates right now and take advantage of their special price.  I think they will make your tongue very, very happy.


Full disclosure: I did not receive a request to review this product, nor have I received any remuneration for doing so. Sometimes I just want to give a shout out.

Copyright © 2005-2012, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Truffle Tremor

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"The classic flavor of truffle meets the velvety perfection of ripened goat milk cheese. Earthy, elegant, and sophisticated, it's sure to make even the most distinguished taste buds shake!"

That's the statement taken directly from award-winning Cypress Grove Chevre's website and dare I say it may be an understatement. This cheese brings so many superlatives to the tip of my tongue that just a single one has difficulty emerging on its own, they are such a glorious jumble. But I'll give it a try.

Truffle Tremor fills my senses with an almost barnyard-y perfume that dances on my tongue in a pas de deux with the creamy-then-crumbly-then-back-to-creamy, slightly tangy, black truffle-flecked chevre, all enrobed in a gently ripened exterior the texture of which is sublime in and of itself.

'Barnyard' is a good scent, people. Think dark, rich, moist compost-y soil under a blanket of autumn's fallen leaves. Add to that a whiff of a memory of chickens scratching in the dirt and the musky odor of the heat that emanates from the backs of horses lazily swishing their tails on a hot summer day. But that's me. Maybe earthy is a kinder more elegant descriptive, but so many foods and wines are given this moniker and, to be honest, it really doesn't come close in this case.

Humboldt Fog is the Cypress Grove multiple-award-winning cheese that I have always brought to out-of-my-area friends when I visit, but after tasting Truffle Tremor (and then tasting it again, and again) this has to be the one that will accompany me on my next round of visits.

Savored on the back deck on a late afternoon in this gloriously sunny, almost-fall weather and paired simply with a glass of chilled white wine, it's perfection.

Copyright © 2005-2007, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Why I Link To Products

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... and a bit of my philosophy on the subject.

For anyone who reads my blog with any regularity, it's obvious that I do a lot of product linking.

I'd like to explain why but first, a little backstory:

This blog was originally started for my grown boys who for years had been encouraging me to write down my recipes in a family cookbook.

I made several attempts to carry out their wishes in book format, but it didn't work for me. Then, thanks to my brother-in-law, Devan, I discovered blogging and that was that -- I'd found my medium.

So, keeping the whole family thing in mind, here is my explanation of why I use product links:

Quite simply, I link to products that I use in my kitchen. I link to these products, or to cool products I've discovered, so my family and friends can find them to use in their own kitchens if they so choose. I do not seek remuneration for these links nor have I ever been asked to link to any of these products for monetary reward.

Occasionally, I am asked to review a cookbook which I happily do with the caveat that I am under no obligation to write a post about it or put a link to it on my blog unless I choose to do so.

Occasionally, I receive requests to review a kitchen gadget or product and my answer is always the same: I would be happy to do so if I am sent the gadget/product in question, but I clearly state that I will be under no obligation to post it on my blog unless I choose to do so. I am very nice about this, but firm in my resolve.

Now all this is not to say that I don't love to review cookbooks, products and kitchen gadgets. I do. I wouldn't mind being paid for it either. But I am very careful about not compromising my position, in that I write my blog for myself, my family and my friends and, in using product links, am not pandering for commercial gain. If this ever changes, you will be the first to know of it.

As can be seen on my sidebar, I have links to AdSense, which is run by Google. Viewers can click on these links and purchase products if they wish. Sales that result from clicking through my blog, also result in me receiving a small percentage of the sale of the product. I have no control over the content of these AdSense links.

In the not-too-distant future, I will be placing a link on my sidebar to my Amazon store. This virtual store will have a listing of products that I use and endorse. Viewers interested in buying a product can click through to my store and make a purchase which, again, will result in my receiving a small percentage of that sale.

Both AdSense and Amazon are win-win partnerships for bloggers. Everything is up front, there is no hidden agenda; a method which I fully support.

Copyright © 2005-2007, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved